Symptoms of Being Roofied: How To Tell and How To React

The symptoms of being roofied can be traumatic, and you may need help to deal with the side effects. Sunlight Recovery’s experts can help you deal with roofied symptoms by providing individual and group therapy sessions. It’s good practice only to drink something you’ve made or opened yourself. If you’re at a bar, keep an eye on the person preparing your drink, remembering that expert predators need less than a second to spike your drink.

What to Do if Someone Is Roofied?

If you suspect that your drink has been spiked, let someone know immediately and get somewhere safe with people you trust. It is also important to notify workers or managers if you are in a club or bar so that they can take proper action. Being roofied is never the victim’s fault, but there are signs and symptoms to watch out for to help keep you and the people around you safe. Rohypnol causes extreme drowsiness, blackouts, reduced inhibitions, impaired judgment, and overall debilitation that can make a person unaware and unresisting to sexual assault.

What is Rohypnol?

Bostonians of all ages and genders have experienced incidents of suspected drink tampering, with nights out ending in blackouts and trips to the emergency room. The Boston Police Department received 116 reports of drink spiking in 2022, and 47 in the first six months of 2023. Being roofied can leave the victim with feelings of shame, paranoia, self-blame, depression, and anxiety. These symptoms can last long after the physical effects of the drink wear off and make it difficult to function in their daily life.

Everyone is vulnerable to the effects of drink spiking, no matter your size, age, gender, or alcohol tolerance. That’s why BU Today spoke to experts at Boston University about how to identify the symptoms of drink spiking, seek help for a suspected incident, report an incident to BUPD, find support on campus, and more. Learn the signs and symptoms to know how to help someone who has been roofied. Sandstone Care supports teens and young adults with mental health and substance use disorders. One way to tell between the two is that someone who is roofied may appear to be extremely drunk only after one or two drinks.

It is also important to note that a substance can be slipped into a drink almost instantly, especially if it is in powder form. Always holding your drink or keeping it close to you and covered can help reduce the risk of a drug getting slipped into your drink. It is also important to go out with people you trust and ensure everyone looks out for each other. A roofie attack is when a perpetrator spikes a drink of an intended victim in order to take advantage of them. In high doses, a person can become unconscious and may not remember what happened to them.

Some common drugs used signs of being drugged at a bar to spike drugs are Ecstasy, Ketamine, and LSD, among other party drugs, and Rohypnol, often used to treat severe insomnia or assist with anesthesia, which is illegal in the United States. If you suspect that you have been roofied, immediate and longer-term steps can help you recover physically and emotionally. Victims may experience nausea, vomiting and other gastrointestinal symptoms. These effects can occur suddenly and with little warning, differentiating them from the slower onset of alcohol-related nausea.

Your intervention can make a significant difference in preventing further harm and facilitating the individual’s recovery process. The drug that has been slipped into your drink can cause nausea, especially when you’ve been drinking. Having trouble breathing can also be a sign that you’ve been roofied.

How to report a drink spiking

• And remember, testing isn’t always definitive—just because a tox screen comes back negative does not prove your drink wasn’t spiked.
• Detecting the common signs of being roofied can be confusing, especially if you’ve been drinking.
• It was a terrifying experience all around, especially when I had no idea what to do when I finally realized what had happened.
• Symptoms of rohypnol or sleep-aid dosing include sudden, extreme intoxication, drowsiness, memory loss, dizziness and lightheadedness, disorientation, blurred vision, nausea, and difficulty walking or standing.
• This can be done through therapy, support groups, and other mental health treatments.

“At least 50% of sexual assaults involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrator and/or victim,” Michonski said. Many states also have their own sexual assault hotlines and support services. Depending on your state of residence, there may be multiple resources you can explore to obtain the support and direction you need after experiencing sexual assault of any kind.

Medication-Assisted Treatment

• It’s one of the brand names for a group of benzodiazepines called flunitrazepams, known for their ability to treat severe insomnia.
• If someone has been roofied, they should get medical care to be monitored to make sure they are okay.
• Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB, causes a victim to become disoriented and groggy.
• Some side effects can be long-lasting, depending on how much of the drug you ingested and how your body reacts to it.
• Having your drink spiked without your knowledge or consent is commonly called “being roofied.” And it can make sexual violence more likely.

And they can keep you safe or seek care for you until the drug wears off,” Rowland adds. If you suspect you’ve been drugged or your loved one, consider seeking addiction treatment, proper healthcare, or detox services. Substance misuse, whether intentional or involuntary, can have severe consequences on mental health and overall well-being. Additionally, if symptoms are severe or if there’s a risk of overdose, seek emergency medical care immediately.

Repeated exposure or self-medication with drugs and alcohol necessitates professional addiction treatment and detoxification to manage withdrawal symptoms and begin recovery. Stick with friends and those you trust to ensure your safety in party situations. If you suspect someone has been roofied or given a date rape drug, there are a few critical steps you can take to ensure their safety and well-being. Metformin works for diabetes because it changes the way the body processes and produces sugar. Like exercise or fasting, metformin regulates how the body uses energy and encourages autophagy, a process that allows the body to process old and damaged cells.

And as an off-patent, generic drug, it’s cheap — it costs 10 to 20 cents per pill. Remember what your drink looks and tastes like to identify even the smallest changes. Some varieties of Rohypnol turn drinks blue, and GHB can make your drink taste salty. Although anyone can get roofied, women are more likely to get roofied than men. Teens and women younger than 30 are at a higher risk than older women.

Signs Of A Spiked Drink I Wish I Knew Before I Was Drugged

These centers can help address both physical and psychological needs. But things happen, and even the utmost precaution won’t stop someone with bad intentions. During my sophomore year of college, I went to a club with my best friend, had a single drink, and blacked out as the result of being drugged, despite having played by all the safety rules. It was a terrifying experience all around, especially when I had no idea what to do when I finally realized what had happened. Benzodiazepines, including Xanax and Valium, are potent depressants that affect the central nervous system. They are known for inducing drowsiness, confusion, and memory loss beyond the expected effects of alcohol consumption.

Symptoms of rohypnol or sleep-aid dosing include sudden, extreme intoxication, drowsiness, memory loss, dizziness and lightheadedness, disorientation, blurred vision, nausea, and difficulty walking or standing. Drugs like Rohypnol, GHB, and ketamine are the most commonly used date-rape drugs, but it’s hard to know exactly how commonly they are used because many cases go unreported. Mental health treatment can help victims to feel safe, heard, empowered, and healed as they recover from the experience of being roofied. If you have been roofied, it is important to remember that it is not your fault. Talk to someone, whether it is a friend, family member, healthcare provider, therapist, or anyone else you trust.